Fighting the Monster
by imthebunny
Summary: Edward struggles with the turning of Bella and the consequences that follow.
1. Chapter 1

_DISCLAIMER: You know the typical mumbo-jumbo. As much as I would like to say I own Edward, and the rest of the people from the Twilight series, I do not. They are all the creation of Stephenie Meyer._

**Chapter One - Considerations**

I know I had tasted it before and already knew how sweet it was, but then, my purpose was to suck _out_ the blood. This time, however, the venom that runs through my bloodless veins will be the very venom that will enter Bella's very human veins. I cannot quite figure out how I am able to do this. I always felt as though kissing her throat would numb my senses. Being away from her for so long, thinking she had died, I knew what it was like to lose something so incredibly wonderful, and this thought eased my thirst. But now, I can sense her nerves, her heart pumping so quickly, her blood shouting out to me even louder than ever before! This was nothing like sucking blood from her hand; no, I was at her throat. Even if I had enough control to make sure I didn't drink her blood, I could just as easily accidentally rip her throat. Then the blood would be spilling so quickly, singing to me so beautifully. One wrong move, and the thing I have come to love so dearly, so completely, relentlessly, will die surely in my arms.

Carlisle was by my side, as well as Esme, giving me reassurances every second. Alice, too, was nearby, ready to warn Emmett if she had a vision of Bella's death. I shudder at this much-needed precaution. Right now, Alice sees everything working out, because I decided I was going to do this right; but what if Bella's blood calls out to me, and I am unable to resist? In an instant, I will decide to kill her, and Alice will surely see this, and Emmett will restrain me as Carlisle tends to Bella to ensure no major damage has been done. Rosalie stood far from all of us, waiting, I am sure, for Bella to change her mind. As much as she does not want this to happen, she understands that it must. Next to myself, Jasper may have the most difficult job here. Once my venom enters Bella's bloodstream, once she feels the burning pain, once she screams in agony, Jasper will feel every bit of it. He sits next to Alice, holding her hand, incase the pain is too much for him, and he is unable to do his assigned job, which is to ease Bella's pain as much as he can.

I took one last deep breath, chuckling to myself for performing an unnecessary habit. I looked around my family, knowing the risks they were all taking for Bella and myself. Surely, Jacob knew what we intend to do. He will no doubt do his best to find us.

I took another deep breath. Why was I stalling?

A few more minutes, it seemed, I just stared at Bella's perfect features. She looked up at my face, smiling. Smiling, can you imagine? I'm about to take away her life. Her father. Her mother. And the most painful removal from her life: Jacob. I feel relief and joy every day when Bella wakes up in the morning and rolls over and stares into my eyes, because it reminds me that she chose _me_; what makes this all the more special is that it was a hard decision, yet she still chose me. I appreciate the sacrifice she made, and although I am still not sold on taking away her humanity, I am glad she chose to remain with me, to spend eternity with me. I promised her forever, and I do not plan on taking that away.

Another deep breath? I am thankful for my wonderful family who all support Bella and myself in this. They are patient; living as long as we have, most especially Carlisle, improves your patience.

This is it, my final breath, before making the biggest decision of my life.

I find it funny. Before Bella, I would always refer to my 'life' simply as my 'existence'. I didn't give anything to the planet. If I went through with my plan in Volterra, only my family and Bella would have acknowledged my disappearance. But now, after having spent so much time with this angel in my arms, I have come to realize there is more to my existence. Now that I have Bella, I have a reason to do more than simply exist; I have a reason to _live_.

I lowered my mouth onto her throat, inhaling her luscious scent. I kissed her once, twice, and then gazed into her eyes, her beautiful eyes. I tried to take in everything about her now, because once the venom entered her body, it would conquer her blood. I was willing to risk all this, because I became more attached to the person as opposed to the blood. I would always remember, though, that sweet smell, and its taste.

I lowered my mouth to her throat, reminding myself to be gentle.

_NOTE: This is my first fanfic on here for Twilight. Lots of constructive criticism! The next one I may post in a week's time. It won't be really entertaining or adventuresome, just bear with me. I am a fan of cliff hangers, muahaha!_


	2. Chapter 2

_DISCLAIMER: You know the how it goes—I don't own any of these characters, they are the sole property of Stephenie Meyer._

**Chapter Two – Initial Pain**

I prepared myself for this reaction, for the pain I could only imagine she was experiencing. I heard Jasper's muffled cries, trying so hard not to make this worse on either of us as possible.

Bella immediately screamed and slapped a hand to her throat, shouting, cursing, her body writhing uncontrollably. It may sound unbelievable, but it took all of us to hold her down and keep her from hurting herself.

Carlisle immediately gave Bella a shot, hoping to sedate her. For a second, I looked at Bella's face to give her an "I told you so" look. She had insisted on no drugs. She said if she was going to remember any human memory, it was going to be this. None of us could understand why, but I learned to trust her judgment. I looked at her face, hoping to see her warming smile, that reassuring smile, but all I saw was pain. Her face was contorted so grotesquely, and I felt a stab of pain in my gut. I caused this pain. Bella will be wishing she were dead right now, and it's because I chose to turn her.

I tried so hard to convince myself I was not a monster. Bella was the only person who I listened to, the only person I trusted enough to convince me I had a soul, I had a reason here on this planet.

I experienced loss with Bella in so many different ways. First, when I thought she had died. And second, when I thought for sure she would choose Jacob, humanity, over me. When I heard she had asked Jacob to kiss her, I was in disbelief. I knew exactly what Jacob had in mind, his scheme, but still, to hear him gloating over Bella kissing him, it was unbearable.

Bella finally stopped screaming so loudly; only whimpers escaped her artistically beautiful lips. I was thankful for Carlisle and Jasper. Esme could read in my face how upset I was over this; over the pain I caused Bella. She led me to the kitchen of our house and sat me down at the table.

"Edward. I know what you are feeling, right now. Bella is not going to be upset with you; she will not regret this," she said softly. Sometimes I wondered if Esme had the same talent as I did.

"Edward? Can I tell you a story? I know you've heard this countless times before, but now, perhaps, you will see it in a different light." I was slightly confused by her tone, what story had she to tell me, at this very moment, when my soul mate was essentially dying in the next room? "When I first met Carlisle, I was young, I was only sixteen. He treated my broken arm. He left when the month ended, but I never forgot him. My life went on, but all the while, I felt as if something were missing. I sometimes had dreams about that doctor who took care of me, but I never really tied him to the incomplete feeling I felt." I was so caught up in what Bella was experiencing. I could vaguely hear Jasper and Carlisle's thoughts on Bella's state. Although Bella was sedated and hardly showed signs of being in pain, Jasper could feel every bit of it. I was listening to Esme, but my mind was slightly preoccupied; I could not tell where this story was going.

"When I was 26, my baby died. Edward, the thought of bringing something so precious and wonderful into the world delighted me to no end, and that feeling of missing in my heart was sure to be repaired. My baby died, and I felt no reason to live any longer." She paused and looked down at the table, at her neatly folded hands, clearly remembering the pain of her loss. "I woke up in absolute pain. I thought I had failed in killing myself, as well as failing my parents, my baby…I woke up in pain and saw a familiar face. It took only a second for recognition, and I remembered everything about the first time I met this man. I was slightly confused, however, because a decade had passed and he didn't look any differently." The corners of her mouth rose slightly. "He explained to me what happened, what I was experiencing. He did all he could to ensure I was as comfortable as possible." I nodded, remembering the first time Carlisle brought home Esme. I pitied her because she was to live the same life as me. "Edward, I never once regretted it. I never once felt anger towards Carlisle. After all, had he not saved me, I wouldn't be here now, with you, and Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, _or_ Bella. Carlisle gave me a rare gift, the gift to endure forever in love. You may not see it that way, and whether you like it or not, you've made an impact on her. You may not feel like it now, but I'm sure, in a few years, at the least, you will realize this was a good choice. She's weighed her options, and she knows she can't live without you. Trust her judgment, Edward."

Esme patted my hands and left me to my thoughts. I had struggled ever since graduation with the thought of turning Bella. As much as I didn't want to, I knew it was what Bella wanted, and all I wanted was for Bella to be happy.

Just two days left, and Bella wouldn't be in pain anymore. Of course, it would be another year before she was back to herself. Carlisle assured me he and everyone else would help with Bella's thirst.

It wasn't Bella who worried me, though. The Alpha of the wolf pack and I spoke. He understood that Bella would stop at nothing to be a vampire, and he knew it would happen regardless of what the wolves tried or said. We were both worried about Jacob. He disappeared when he received our wedding invitation, and Sam never heard from him since. He told me he knew Jacob would return, but when, we were not sure. It did not matter when, or where he turned up, however, that concerned us. It was his temper. The wolves kept constant vigil, but they can't hear any of his thoughts. This could mean many things, some too difficult to imagine. But if and when he does arrive, we are all prepared for his reaction.

_Note: Let me know what you think!! Don't forget, though, I will up the ante after a few initial things happen. I hope you like it so far!!! Comments are greatly appreciated!!_


	3. Chapter 3

_DISCLAIMER: As much as I would love to own the characters of the Twilight realm, they are not mine._

**Chapter Three – A Vision**

A month had passed since that first day when Bella was writhing in agony. I couldn't thank Jasper more for his help. I understood how difficult it was for him to experience that pain. I'm still not sure if he agreed to help so that Bella would feel better, or so he would feel better. But, since Bella's recovery, he's been acting happier, brighter. He may feel happy because he is no longer the weakest of us all.

Because the first year is the hardest for newborns, each of us are spending a day with Bella discussing certain techniques for hunting, walking among humans, her speech, controlling urges she has. She never fully realized how difficult it would be to hide the fact that she is a vampire. Sometimes I have to laugh at that first week. She was speaking so quickly, walking around the house so incredibly fast. She never realized how hard we all have to watch our every movement. Any slight cognitive dissonance causes suspicion, and then assumptions, and before the accusations, we usually leave that city behind.

Emmett, you can imagine, I'm sure, has been the one to show Bella how to hunt. We hope to flush her system of what human blood is left as quickly as possible, and hopefully that will help tone down the one year of instability to a few months. We want to speed up her 'recovery' as quickly as possible so that we can move undetected, or at least, move without drawing too much attention to ourselves. We have not decided if it would be best to expose Bella to humans now or later. She hasn't smelled their blood, yet, so she doesn't know how difficult it will be. Is prolonging her exposure going to help or exacerbate the problem? We really are not sure.

As for Bella's new talent, none of us have seen anything unusual, felt anything unusual; she doesn't seem to know things about us that we haven't told her upfront. It will be interesting to see what part of her human existence she brought with her to this new life.

Esme had told me my guilt-ridden feelings would soon evaporate, but I still do not know if this has been the right thing to do or not. Bella is so caught up in the new experiences, she has not had much time to take everything in and evaluate the consequences. I know she misses Charlie. She doesn't sleep anymore, of course, so she doesn't dream, but oftentimes I'll find her sitting in a chair of the living room, looking as if she were in a dream-like state; she'll stare off to the corner of the room and quietly say his name to herself. It hurt to hear that, almost as much as it hurts to find her sitting at the edge of the woods surrounding the house; when she thinks no one can hear her, she calls _his_ name. I knew she was in love with him too, but she promised me she could not live her life without me. I never doubted her, but it still hurt knowing how much pain she was in because she could not be with Jacob. She knew he was missing since he didn't show up at the wedding, she knew Sam didn't know where he was, that _no one_ knew where he was. I thought it best to refrain from speaking to her about him until it appeared the wounds had healed.

I was resting on the large bed in my room reading when I saw her vision, or the lack of a vision. I could see Bella clearly, sitting at the edge of the woods, then everything disappeared. No sooner had I seen this, Alice ran into my room, fear evident in her eyes.

"_Edward?_" She sounded frantic. I jumped off the bed, and Alice and I both rushed to find Bella.


	4. Chapter 4

_DISCLAIMER: All Twilight characters are the creation of Stephenie Meyer._

**Chapter Four – Chaos**

She was sitting at the kitchen table, innocently looking outside the window to the woods. I sat down next to her and held her hands, hoping the mention of his name would not send her into hysterics.

"Bella, my love," I looked intently into her eyes, praying she would understand my fear, "Bella, have you come in contact with Jacob at all?" When I said his name, she took a quick, sharp intake of breath. Nothing else about her appearance gave away she was anxious. "Bella, you need to tell me, are you planning on going to La Push at all? Are you planning on seeing Jacob?" Her eyes, which were gazing outside the window, slowly turned to meet mine. She furrowed her eyebrows, "No, Edward. Why? Is he coming? Did Alice see something?" I shook my head reluctantly; it was obvious she wanted to see him so much.

Alice was dumbfounded. She never had a false vision before.

"Edward," she sounded nervous. "This has never happened before. I've missed something, usually if I'm watching for too many things. But never have I had a false vision." Alice could not have visions based on decisions of the wolves, so she would not have had a vision if one of _them_ decided to find Bella. But Bella did not have any intentions to see the wolves or Jacob. It didn't make sense, and it was unnerving. Carlisle and Esme didn't have any answers either; they were just as perplexed.

Other things were happening to alarm us all. Emmett reported that while he and Bella were hunting, he was going after a rather large mountain lion. He was unable to take it down and seconds later, Bella was feasting. This news would have been funny if it weren't for what the rest of us were experiencing, because I noticed something strange with myself too. One night, Alice and I were sitting in her room comparing classical music to modern rock, and of course, neither of us needed speak. I could hear her thoughts clearly, and she would see my response. Bella walked in the room to join in the conversation and then I couldn't even hear what Alice was thinking.

"Carlisle, we're worried."

"Could it be the Volturi?"

"But why? Bella's been changed, they should have no issues with us."

We were all worried, and Jasper was unable to control the tense atmosphere, further evidence for Carlisle.

"No," he started, "I haven't sensed the Volturi anywhere, and Alice hasn't seen them making their way here."

"But if I keep getting false visions, maybe I'm missing them too?" Alice sounded distressed, we all did, and it was understandable. Without our talents that we used so often, to the point of taking them for granted, we felt powerless, vulnerable, human.

Days passed, and none of us had any different theories; soon, they became stranger and made less sense. If the Volturi were up to something, we assumed it would be for Bella. They were so intrigued by her mind; would it be impossible to assume they would want to see her after she changed to see her special ability? They would surely be disappointed to see nothing changed about her, besides the obvious.

Alice had gotten so used to her false visions, she decided to stop relaying them to us. I didn't even know what her visions were, since I was unable to read anyone's thoughts. So, what made Alice so jumpy about the last vision she had, I did not know.

"Edward." She looked deep in my eyes, trying to convey that this vision seemed authentic. "I saw them. I saw them coming." There were only two groups whose presence made us nervous: the Volturi and the wolves.

"Alice, who? Who is coming?"

"The Volturi. I don't know why. I just—I saw them, here. In the house. We were out for the day, but I can't tell what we were doing, and we came back, and they were in here. That's all I saw."

"You can't even tell if they were hostile?"

"No. Nothing. I just saw them."

No one was positive if we should take precautions. Alice had said we were out of the house, but we haven't left in months. After we all graduated, and Bella and I married, everyone assumed we went to school in Alaska like planned, and Esme and Carlisle decided to move since the large house was no longer needed. We rarely went on family-wide hunts, simply because we never found enough animals to fill everyone's thirst.

The next day, Alice ran to my room looking positively exultant. "Edward!! I know what we're doing!" Alice's false visions never related to each other; this was a red flag that her latest visions were genuine. "Edward, it rains that day. A large thunderstorm is coming."

_Hey guys! Sorry I didn't post last night, I was so busy! Thanks for all your reviews, I love them!!! XD_


	5. Chapter 5

_DISCLAIMER: You know how it goes—Stephenie Meyer owns these characters._

**Chapter Five – Visitors**

I didn't realize I could enjoy a baseball game with all the stress we've experienced. It was more fun this time, though, because I had Bella with me. I found I missed the clumsy, damsel-in-distress Bella, but the new Bella was just as wonderful. The game went just as smoothly as last time, but after we all knew we would be leaving soon, we tensed up a bit, not hitting the ball as hard as before; this all seemed vaguely familiar. Once we felt we exhausted our enthusiasm, and the storm seemed to be subsiding, we went back to the house.

Carlisle walked in the door first, and we each followed. Alice said she saw them standing in a line in the living room. We walked in, and there they stood.

"Ah, Carlisle, so good to see you!" Although I couldn't properly see them in the darkness the storm provided outside, I could sense what three vampires chose to grace us with their presence. Three figures stood side by side, Aro in the middle, with Alec and Jane on either side of him. Aro glided forward, offering a hand to Carlisle. Knowing full well what Aro's gift was, Carlisle declined the offer and merely asked, "What do you want here, Aro? Bella is turned. You have no reason to disturb us."

Jane apparently did not like the tone Carlisle used when addressing Aro. She walked briskly forward to Aro's side and glared at Carlisle.

"We don't mean to disturb you all. We only mean to check on Bella's progress." Aro eyed Bella.

I stepped forward in front of Bella protectively. "She's turned, and no one knows about it. You have nothing to worry about."

"Oh, but we know she's been turned, or else, there would be a number of deaths." Aro's face remained straight, but Jane broke out into a grin. "No, what we're here for is to find out if Bella has any … special ability."

I was about to speak, but Bella chose to answer. "No. I have no special ability besides still being able to keep you all out of my head." Aro looked slightly disappointed, yet still intrigued.

"Well, then, I guess you wouldn't mind if we borrowed your Bella for a bit to … make sure she isn't hiding a talent." He motioned for Bella to come forward with him. She turned around slightly panicked at me. Jane saw all of our reluctance to give her up; she came forward, clearly to exercise some power.

"Bella," she started, with her child-like voice, "let's not make this difficult. You don't want me to have to hurt any of your family, would you?" Jane turned to my face, her intention clear as day. I braced myself for the pain I was about to experience; from the corner of my eye, I saw Jasper cringe and tense up as well. But nothing happened. Jane's eyes remained locked on mine, but any confidence and pleasure that were in them disappeared and were replaced with confusion and irritation. "Aro?" Jane looked up at her leader, and he appeared just as dismayed as she.

The confusion in his eyes disappeared as quickly as it came. He looked calm again, and motioned for Alec to come forward. I could see my family back away a fraction of an inch. We were unaware of what Alec's particular gift was; we knew nothing except it was more potent than Jane's. "Alec, why don't you try to convince Bella to come forward with us?" Alec nodded and glared at me, but nothing happened.

Aro looked frustrated, and it was most likely because he was unfamiliar with curveballs.

_Bella has the ability to render other vampires' abilities useless when she so chooses_.

I heard Carlisle's thoughts, and realization dawned on me. Emmett's strength reduced to a mere human's, my inability to hear what others were thinking. She must have somehow messed with Alice's visions. Jane was unable to inflict any pain, and Alec's power, whatever it was, was useless. It seemed Bella figured this out too, since I was able to hear Carlisle's thoughts.

_Don't let them know. _

"Well. We will be going now." Aro motioned to his followers to leave with him. "We will come back, but I'm sure Alice will be able to let you all know when. So, without further ado." The three unwelcome vampires gracefully but hurriedly exited the house and left the rest of us to our thoughts.

Emmett looked positively exultant. He punched the air and then grabbed Bella in his arms and threw her in the air. "Excellent!" Apparently, Carlisle, Bella, and I were not the only ones to discover Bella's power. Rosalie, too, looked happy.

"Bella, when did you discover your talent?" Carlisle asked.

"After Jane came forward. I didn't exactly think of anything, I just knew I didn't want her hurting Edward. Then Alec came forward and I got really scared and was not looking forward to see whatever it was he could do." I pulled Bella into me and hugged her tightly.

"Well, we know they'll be back. Alice…?" Carlisle motioned to Alice, who understood.

"Instead of listening for an official order, I'll just pay attention to Aro and Jane. They may not necessarily want the rest of the Volturi to know what they want."

The little celebration in the house at the discovery of Bella's new talent was cut short when the doorbell rang. Alice had a look of surprise and disgust on her face. I understood immediately.

"Wolves."

I walked to the door with Bella at my side. Sam stood at the entrance.

All he said was, "He's back."

_NOTE: Hey guys! Well, I just moved to Cincinnati today! I move into my dorm room tomorrow! I am so excited! Because I'll be so busy, I may not be able to update as often. Keep the reviews coming! I love them!_


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